Fela Kuti Quotes

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Fela Kuti

Profession : Musician

Birth : October 15, 1938

I'm playing deep African music.

Fela Kuti

Music must awaken people to do their duty as citizens and act.

Fela Kuti

It's crazy; in the States, people think the black power movement drew inspiration from Africa. All these Americans come over here looking for awareness. They don't realize they're the ones who've got it over there.

Fela Kuti

Without Tony Allen, there would have been no Afrobeat.

Fela Kuti

My country will be a symbol of free human society.

Fela Kuti

America needs to hear some good sounds from Africa, man. The sanity of the world is going to be generated from Africa through art.

Fela Kuti

I think I'm going to lead my people one day. I'm sure of it.

Fela Kuti

I'm not your average politician. I believe in higher forces.

Fela Kuti

Even death doesn't worry me, man. When my mother died it was because she finished her time on earth. I know that when I die I'll see her again, so how can I fear death?

Fela Kuti

I believe in pan-Africanism. This means that in many things - the judiciary, sports, economics and trade - we want Africanism to be involved, which is basically more freedom for the people.

Fela Kuti

My ideas are threatening to the government.

Fela Kuti

If I became president now I would immediately pass a law that makes every citizen a policeman or a soldier.

Fela Kuti

Jazz was the beginning of rhythm music, which developed into rock and roll. But what the jazz musicians lost because they were so far from their homeland was the intricate rhythms of African music.

Fela Kuti

An African man should not do anything called housework or cooking.

Fela Kuti

Western music is Bach, Handel and Schubert. It's good music, cleverly done. As a musician, I can see that.

Fela Kuti

By the time I finished school, I found out I wasn't qualified to study anything but music.

Fela Kuti

The rhythm, the sounds, the tonality, the chord sequences, the individual effect of each instrument and each section of the band - I'm talking about a whole continent in my music.

Fela Kuti

My music has never been a failure.

Fela Kuti

If a female wants to do a man's job, no one will stop her from doing it, but women have duties to perform as mothers.

Fela Kuti

My mother wasn't any better than my father.

Fela Kuti